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Come, Follow Me Week 48 – Nahum; Habakkuk; Zephaniah

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Habakkuk – For our day

by Jennifer Roach, LMHC

Habakkuk is the book you never knew you needed.

The problem of evil is a question every generation must grapple with.  If God exists, why does he allow school children to be killed in a shooting? If God is good, how can he let people suffer as they do? If God cares about his children, how can poverty, disease, and violence rampage us as they do?

Habakkuk grappled with this question too. In his day the question was, “If God loves us, why do the Babylonians terrorize us?”  I offer the following reading of Habakkuk – for his day, and for our day – as an answer to the problem of evil. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 48 – Nahum; Habakkuk; Zephaniah

Come, Follow Me Week 47 – Jonah; Micah

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A Gourd, a Worm, and an East Wind: Discovering God’s Extensions of Love in the Book of Jonah

by Matt Crawford

Jonah called Gath-hepher home—a town which was west of the present-day Sea of Galilee (see 2 Kings 14:25). When the Lord called Jonah on a mission from his comfortable home to the Assyrian city of Nineveh,[1] he did not hesitate to act. Jonah immediately “rose up to flee unto Tarshish” (Jonah 1:3).[2] [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 47 – Jonah; Micah

President Joseph F. Smith Explains What “Mormonism” Really Is

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(submitted by Dennis B. Horne)

Editorial Note: In the below article, President Smith defines the label “Mormonism” very much as President Russell M. Nelson has. These prophets are one in their views on this matter. President Smith also expounds in some detail on many facets of church practice and doctrine, including the future. Most of the material is as true and relevant today as it was a hundred and twenty years ago—there is great consistency in church teachings and practice. One effect of his message is to make one proud to be a faithful member of the Restored Church of Jesus Christ. The original article is titled, The “Mormonism” of Today: [Read more…] about President Joseph F. Smith Explains What “Mormonism” Really Is

Come, Follow Me Week 46 – Amos; Obadiah

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Amos and Prophets

by Daniel Ortner

Amos is considered one of the “minor” prophets. But Amos 3:7 is a verse that is one of the more frequently cited in General Conference. According to the BYU Scripture Citation Index, it has been cited around 109 times. That’s more than any single psalm in the book of Psalms (not more than the whole book of Psalms). More than whole books of the Old Testament such as Judges, Ruth, and Esther. More than a lot of well known verses in the New Testament or Book of Mormon. And even about as frequently as 1 Nephi 3:7. It is a pretty big deal. Ultimately the popularity of this verse says a lot about our devotion to following the Lord’s prophet and apostles. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 46 – Amos; Obadiah

Come, Follow Me Week 45 – Hosea 1–6; 10–14; Joel (additional post)

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Why is Obedience Greater than Sacrifice?

Meditations on Hosea 6:6

by Benjamin Pacini

My children know that the rule on Sunday is that they can only watch “church videos.” They’ve gotten to know them so well that when I began playing one of my favorites, it was two seconds in before my son shouted from the other room “that’s ‘Music of the Gospel’–I love that one!”  [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 45 – Hosea 1–6; 10–14; Joel (additional post)

Come, Follow Me Week 44 – Hosea 1–6; 10–14; Joel

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His Love for Us Is Constant

by Anna Buis

Despite our best efforts, we will inevitably fall short because we are human. This human experience teaches us that we need the Savior and His atoning sacrifice. His invitation to us is always to return to Him; His love for us is constant. Hosea 14:4 says, “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from Israel.” We can find comfort in Christ taking action to forgive, heal, and love us individually.

In a journal entry dated April 7, 1844, Wilford Woodruff recorded Sidney Rigdon’s sermon: [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 44 – Hosea 1–6; 10–14; Joel

Come, Follow Me Week 43 – Ezekiel 1–3; 33–34; 36–37; 47

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True Prophets Call Us to Repentance

by Daniel Ortner

Ezekiel’s Prophetic Call to Cry Repentance

Chapters 1 and 2 of the Book of Ezekiel feature Ezekiel’s prophetic call. Just like the prophet Isaiah and Ezekiel’s contemporaries Isaiah and Jeremiah, Ezekiel is called as part of a vision where he sees the throne of God and feels the overwhelming presence of God. From each of these calls we can learn something significant about the role of a Prophet. For instance, from Jeremiah we learned a few weeks ago how God knew Jeremiah before he was born and foreordained him to be a prophet. But from Ezekiel we learn about a prophet’s mission to people to repentance whether or not that message is popular. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 43 – Ezekiel 1–3; 33–34; 36–37; 47

Come, Follow Me Week 42 – Jeremiah 30–33; 36; Lamentations 1; 3

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Are There Some Things That Can’t Be Cured?

by Jennifer Roach, LMHC

Jeremiah, true to his nickname of “The Weeping Prophet,” wants to talk to us about some hard things this week. And it’s a little uncomfortable.

In my day-job as a mental health therapist I sit with people in pain every week. They’re tired of their pain and therapy is a great place to start. And as a society we’ve done better in recent years at giving people the message that sometimes really bad things happen to them that are not their fault. And it’s true. But both modern-therapy, and the prophet Jeremiah, know that we can’t stop there. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 42 – Jeremiah 30–33; 36; Lamentations 1; 3

Come, Follow Me Week 41 – Jeremiah 1–3; 7; 16–18; 20

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by Christopher D. Cunningham

The motivational speaker Wayne Dwyer popularized a story about two babies in a mother’s womb.

While chatting, one asked the other if they believed in life after birth.

The second one said they did, and they were likely preparing for something greater later on.

But the first didn’t agree, it seemed like nonsense. What would that life look like?

The second suggested that perhaps they would eat with their mouths and walk with their feet. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 41 – Jeremiah 1–3; 7; 16–18; 20

Come, Follow Me Week 40 – Isaiah 58-66

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Isaiah and  Approaching God on the Day of Atonement

By Kerry Muhlestein

This week is the celebration of Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement. It takes place from sundown on Tuesday, October 4th, until sundown on Wednesday, October 5th. It is the holiest celebration in all the festivals the Lord commanded Israel to observe. You can read about it in Leviticus 16. This is the day where sacrifices were made to cleanse the tabernacle, everything in it, and all of Israel. One goat was sacrificed, and another had the sins of Israel symbolically transferred to it, and then that (scape)goat was driven into the wilderness. After these rituals and more, the high priest, representing all of Israel, could enter into the Holy of Holies and symbolically be reunited with the presence of God. This once-a-year ritual was the most significant event in the year. [Read more…] about Come, Follow Me Week 40 – Isaiah 58-66